Three years ago we accepted an invitation to be part of a multimedia project at RTPAçores entitled Comunidades (http://ww1.rtp.pt/icmblogs/rtp/comunidades/). We were honoured with the request, and we also recognized the challenges. The prospect of contributing to a space where we would find ourselves immersed amidst the ‘transcultural mappings’ of our diasporic Azorean world was extremely appealing to both of us.
On February 25th, Comunidades celebrates its third anniversary. Today, we celebrate a space that has gathered more than 730 postings, and that has been visited by thousands of readers worldwide. The texts herein published, have been extensive in the treatment of thematic diversity and creativity, as well as in the task performed by the contributions and collaborations from colleagues and friends worldwide, thus constituting an awareness and exploration of diasporic ‘subjective and intersubjective worlds.’
As we look at the results of this collective effort, we feel confident that we have reached many of the objectives discussed at the outset of this project.
We take this opportunity to thank RTP Açores for the invitation three years ago, and for the continuous support. In particular we would like to thank Pedro Bicudo, Antonio Gil, and Luciano Barcelos. We also thank our colleagues and friends for their contributions and willingness to be part of this collective endeavour. A thank you is also extended to our readers for their interest in this space, and for their unwavering support. Their public, as well as their private comments have been an incentive to this project. For many of our readers the materials posted in Comunidades in the last three years have not only been a source of discovery, as they have also served as additional reference for further searching into our diasporic world.
Comunidades continues being an open space for the publication and discussion of topics pertaining to our Azorean diaspora, and we invite you to participate.
For the next two weeks we will be posting messages in celebration of this anniversary.
Irene Maria F. Blayer – Lélia Pereira Silva Nunes
